


Honesty is the Best Policy

by SpicyRedPaladin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Familial Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Name Changes, talking things out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 03:54:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17953118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicyRedPaladin/pseuds/SpicyRedPaladin
Summary: Shiro decides it's time to be honest with Kuron, because he can't let the bad blood sit between them anymore.





	Honesty is the Best Policy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VoidTiger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoidTiger/gifts).



> Beta'd by the lovely PunkInPinkGlitter

Shiro smiled softly as he leaned against the wall outside the canteen. He could hear the others laughing and carrying on, incensed by some joke Lance made. It warmed his heart to hear the others getting along, but he wasn’t exactly listening to them. No, he was listening to the other voice, the one that sounded just like his.

It was strange, living so close to a clone of himself. But, honestly, it wasn’t so bad. If anything, it made everything much easier. The others had seemed to accept the clone as an extension of Shiro, in a way, since the two thought and acted similarly enough that they would get the two mixed up if it weren’t for their hair.

As thankful as he was to have Kuron around, though, they were never really around each other. Shiro could only assume that they were as similar as everyone said they were. In fact, their paths crossed so infrequently that the Black Paladin was starting to believe that his clone was actively avoiding him. Which didn’t make much sense to him. They had a lot to talk about, after all.

Shiro heard the clone dismiss himself and quickly moved out of sight, watching closely as his doppelganger headed away from him down the hall. He was going towards the training rooms, just like he always did after breakfast.

Shiro followed as close as he could without it being obvious he was actually stalking his clone. Ideally, they’d be at the training room when he finally cornered Kuron. (Though he really did need to find something new for the team to call the clone. ‘Kuron’ was a heavy reminder of what happened, after all.)

Luck didn’t seem to be on Shiro’s side, though. Kuron turned off down another hall and the Black Paladin cursed, picking up his pace to try and catch up. He rounded the corner before halting, practically skidding on the slick floor. Kuron was waiting patiently, arms crossed and a displeased look on his face.

“Can I help you with something?” The clone half-snarled at his sire, and Shiro gulped. It was now or never.

“I’m sorry if I’m disturbing you, but we need to have a talk. I know that it would be easy to just ignore everything that happened and keep going the way things are, but that won’t help either of us or the team.”

Kuron shifted uncomfortably and looked away, but it was clear that he knew Shiro was right. After several long moments, the clone let out a deep breath. “Fine. But we’re not going to talk about this out in the hallway. Come on.”

The two walked down the short hall, taking a couple of turns before stopping at Kuron’s room. Once inside, the clone quickly locked the door before leaning against it. Now that they were truly alone, Shiro saw just how vulnerable the other was. The weight of the knowledge that he was unnatural settled over Kuron like a thick blanket, darkening him and drawing him into himself.

A few moments passed before Shiro spoke. “I don’t hate you. For any of this. I know it’s not your fault that Ha-” He paused when Kuron winced. “I won’t say her name, not if it upsets you. But I want you to know that what she made you do to the team does not define who you are in my eyes. Because I see the way you bond with them and how close you all are… And I’d be lying if I said I don’t want to be close to you like that as well.”

Shiro held out a hand, giving the clone a smile. Kuron stared silently for what felt like forever before slowly reaching out and taking the offered hand. “I… I can do that… Bond with you… “

The two moved to the bed, both preferring to be comfortable as they spoke with one another. Strangely, and yet not so at the same time, it all felt right. Like two parts of a whole, they fit together. It was uncanny, really, from their matching faces and mannerisms down to the way their voices synced when they happened to speak a thought in unison.

The two talked at length about how they felt about the other paladins, their feelings on the war; anything and everything they could think of was laid on the table between them. With all honesty, both felt like a great burden had been lifted from their shoulders.

The two finally tapered off when Shiro’s communicator blipped. He flipped it on, smiling as Lance alerted him that they were waiting for him for lunch. After they disconnected, the clone received a very similar call. The two chuckled when the line went dead before heading towards the canteen together.

The team turned towards the door as they heard two pairs of footsteps entering the canteen. Bewilderment was definitely the theme among them, since no one had ever seen the two standing beside each other so casually.  They had especially never seen the two laughing together over a joke Shiro made on the way in.

Shiro chuckled and nudged his clone, gesturing to the others with an encouraging smile. There was a small pause before the man spoke.

“Shiro and I have been talking. We agreed that it was unfair to the rest of you for us to try and pretend nothing happened. I know that I’m not your leader, Shiro is. But I know that you see us very similarly. So, to help, I…” He looked at Shiro nervously before looking back at the team. “I chose my own name.”

The others had listened, at least. That was something. And, after a few seconds of silence, Hunk piped up, saying, “So… are you going to tell us or not?”

The twin men laughed before the artificial one spoke. “Hideo. My name is Hideo. Shiro picked it. He said it suits me, but I’m really sure ‘splendid’ is the right word to describe me.”

Lance nodded, and Pidge shrugged. “I mean, at least it’s not something unpronounceable, right? It could have been a mile long or something.”

Everyone settled into their normal lunchtime seats, but it was clear that a veil had been lifted. Everything was easier now, like the tension around them had finally been cut. The table was full of laughter and teasing and happiness. It felt like they were a family again, a family that was now one brother richer than it had been.

And if Shiro initiated a food goo fight, just to give his newly claimed brother his own memory of the incident, then that was nobody’s business but his own.


End file.
